Viral Sach: Can ISIS trap you in its WhatsApp group 'Firdaus we ascend' ?

If you have a doubt regarding any group, don't join it rather report it to avoid trouble.

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NEW DLEHI: In what could be dubbed as a proof of the Islamic States's attempt to expand its foothold in India, a message about the terror outfit's WhatsApp group has gone viral on social media.

The message, which created panic among a section of social media users, claims that a WhatsApp group of Islamic State can held you 'hostage' and it will be impossible to 'exit' the group.

"There is a Whatsapp group called ‘Firdaus we ascend’, if invited, don’t join the group as it belongs to the Daesh (Arabic name for ISIS). If you join the group you will not be able to exit from it. Be vigilant. Please inform others," the message claims.

It also asks users to forward this to their relatives and friends on WhatsApp so that they remain careful.

Though the WhatsApp forward does not provide any source for its claim but it has got people thinking.

What experts say:

"All the terrorist organistaions use social media -especially WhatsApp- in an effective way to their advantage. This is not the first group, in past there have been several such group created by these outfits," Cyber expert Pawan Duggal said.

"Generally, you get an option to exit any group but sometimes IT professionals use malware which makes it difficult for a user to leave it," he added.

According to Section 66 of IT act, it is an offence to join any such group.

"It's considered as cyber terrorism if someone receives messages from these groups, which is punishable by up to life in prison," the expert said.

If you have a doubt regarding any group, don't join it rather report it to avoid trouble.

Additional info: When a user receives a WhatsApp message from an unknown number, he gets an option to report spam, block or add to contacts. You can report such users and group as 'spam'.